


Prologue Chapter One: The Two Empresses

by walrusgrendel



Series: Jade Empire Prologue [1]
Category: Jade Empire
Genre: 'unnamed wife- deceased' is my villain origin story, F/M, Female-Centric, POV Alternating, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-04-27 00:30:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14413782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walrusgrendel/pseuds/walrusgrendel
Summary: Set forty years before the start of Jade Empire, shortly after Sun Hai became Emperor, focusing on the wives of Sun Hai and Sun Li.





	1. Character List

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunlian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunlian/gifts).



_Wherein a prince quells a rebellion,_

_An Empress schemes for power,_

_And the Lotus Monks begin to alter_

  
  


Character List (including age in the first chapter)

Emperor Sun Wen (father of Hai, Li, and Kin), 75, recently deceased

Empress Sun Lan (the Hand of Heaven, mother of Hai, Li, and Kin), 64

Emperor Sun Hai, 24

Prince Sun Li, 20

Prince Sun Kin, 15

 **Empress Sun Shufen** \- formerly Fan Shufen (wife of Sun Hai), 26

 **Zeng Jiangnu** (engaged to Sun Li), 19

 **Zeng Wu** (younger sister of Jiangnu), 14

Zeng Lu (younger brother of Jiangnu), 12

 **Huan** (Spirit Monk), 36

 **Jia** (servant of Shufen), 36

 **Yuye** (servant of Shufen), 21

 **Zihao** ("trader", mother of Gao the Greater), 43 

Gao, 15

Fan Shen (elder brother of Shufen), 31

Lord Zhong (ruler of the Central Golden Delta), 52

Ling (Lord Zhong's daughter), 20

 **Bolded** point of view characters


	2. Jia I

Jia

There was a soft _thud_ as another peach broke from its branch and fell to the soft earth of the Imperial Palace garden. The late summer heat was beginning to sear her, but Jia stayed as still as the Empress sitting peacefully nearby, eyes closed and hands folded on her lap. You could almost be forgiven for assuming that she had been replaced by a statue if not for the occasionally flicker behind her eyelids and rise of her shoulders as she breathed. 

In the two months that had followed Emperor Sun Hai’s ascension to the throne, there had been little time for such quiet moments and Jia was determined not to be the one to disturb Empress Shufen no matter how uncomfortable she was becoming. Soon enough there would be a respite from the sun’s cruelty, Jia reminded herself. The Empress would wake presently and follow her usual routine: ordering all but one of her servants back inside to cool and getting the remaining woman’s help to collect the fallen fruit before retreating inside as well. Jia had not been one of those required to remain outside. From what the others said, nothing of true importance passed in any discussion they had- the Empress had simply enquired after their wellbeing and asked them a few simple questions about their families- polite, everyday chatter that would not be out of place in the markets of the city below them. 

_thud_

_thud_

The last peach dropping seemed to rouse Shufen from her thoughts and she looked up sharply, shielding her eyes with one hand.

“You may return inside.” Shufen spoke suddenly, prompting jumps from the other women gathered around her, “I know the heat must be unbearable and I wouldn’t want any of you to faint.” 

It was a familiar routine by now, as was the response. 

“Your majesty,” one of the younger servants spoke up, “With respect, we will serve as you need. It is no hardship to be in your presence.” 

Shufen’s eyes turned soft and she reached to take the girl’s hands in her own. 

“Please Yuye, do not trouble yourself for my sake. How am I supposed to fulfil my duty to the people if I ignore those suffering right beside me?” She gave a gentle smile, sweeter than the fallen peaches littered around them. “Please wait in the hall, all of you. Except,” She cast around airly, “Jia.” Shufen had seemed to pluck her name out of nowhere but Jia could already tell this was not a random choice.

Indeed, as soon as the others had bowed and retreated to the cool hall, the Empress’ manner turned from light and cheerful to abruptly businesslike. She straightened slightly- almost unnoticeably to anyone who had not known her from youth, as Jia had. It was the same change that Jia had noted when Shufen had asked her parents in Phoenix Gate for something or other, from sweets to a new gown. The Empress remained still for a moment, watching another peach fall to the ground with a gentle _thud_ before speaking.

“Before I arrived, this garden was nothing. Just a little piece of earth in the centre of the palace.” Her tone was soft, but Jia had learned to notice the sharpness of it long ago.

“I remember, your majesty.”

“When I said I wanted it for a garden, the Empress laughed- particularly when I said I wanted to have personal oversight of its growth and tending. I have been here every day of the summer, waiting for the fruit to fall. My mother-in-law knows this. So do all of her Lotus Monks. Soon they stopped having to watch me because they knew I was here.”

Shufen smiled them, the glint of her teeth reminding Jia of a tiger opening its maw before leaping on some unsuspecting prey.

“There is something powerful in being exactly where you are expected to be, Jia. I tell you this because you have my trust, unlike the rest. I know at least one of them is spying on me. Who, I cannot be certain, but I would rather suspect them all than let myself be surprised.” Shufen sighed. “To tell you the truth I am sick of peaches by now, but I still have some use of this place. It would seem odd if my hobby ended as soon as I spoke to you alone.”

Jia remained silent. Truthfully, she had expected something of this nature eventually although she had expected it a lot sooner but Empress Shufen rarely saw fit to inform others of her plans (even her husband) unless there was an aspect to them that she could not do alone.

“I will get to my point. I know Empress Lan neither likes, nor trusts me. I know she has Lotus Monks watching me, beyond the customary guards. I cannot say that I particularly like her either, or would not do the same if I were in her position but I refuse to spend my rule looking over my shadow as though I were a common criminal. There’s more,” Shufen reached into her left sleeve and withdrew a tightly bound scroll which she handed to Jia.

“Have you kept that on you all day?”

“Yes. It’s a copy of a report given to Prince Li two days ago concerning the recent rise in pirate raids. Something isn’t right and I am certain that the Lotus Monks know, but they will not tell me as long as my witch of a mother-in-law leads them.”

“Couldn’t you simply ask the Emperor? He is your husband.”

“He has been distracted lately by his father’s passing.” Shufen waved the question off, “Not to mention his brother has been angering him even more than usual in the last few weeks. Hopefully after the wedding that will at least cease to be as much of a problem.” Shufen laughed.

“What is it you want me to do?” Jia felt there was no sense in continuing to circle whatever the point of the conversation of.

“I am asking a great deal of you, Jia.” Shufen turned her full attention on her and took on a very serious expression, “But I want you to join the Lotus Monks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah same Jia.  
> And the first appearance of Lian's mother.


	3. Zihao I

Zihao

  
  


She jerked her hand back in sudden pain as the power source of the flyer shifted back into place and flared with intense heat against her palm. A week ago one of the older flyers had been struck in a raid and knocked a great deal of its internal workings asunder. 

Zihao moved her torso out of the guts of the mechanical fly and reached for the cloth she had thrown over a wing to wipe the powder, grease, and sweat from her face. Her tunic was beyond saving, as were her trousers after she wiped her blackened hands on them. It was nearly silent in the pirate’s workshop, the only noises coming from the birds and monkeys outside that had made their home among the wooden ramps and tiers of their base.

She cleaned and bandaged her burns in the same way she had set about repairing the flyer; mind blank, almost as if she were in a trance. The comfortable emptiness of familiarity. 

The boiling sun of the lower Golden Delta scorched her scalp as she finally left the workshop, wood creaking beneath her heavy-booted steps. It was a short walk to her rooms, at the very top of the compound. It was not a large base but Zihao had demanded some level of separation from the workshops and the treasure hoards.

In a moment she had washed the filth from her face, hair, and hands but did not bother changing into a clean set of clothes. If the ones she wore were beyond saving, it was worth getting a little more use out of them before they had to be destroyed. Zihao could hear someone walk up the ramp and slid a new pin into her hair before walking out to meet them halfway so they wouldn’t disturb her space.

The woman before her was one of the older pirates- Zihao did not remember the name. Pirates joined or either left or died so frequently there was little point in it.

”A message from Phoenix Gate, Mistress Zihao. It asked you to increase the raids around the border with the Land of Six Scrolls.”

Zihao snorted. “That region holds nothing but goat herders and wandering monks. There is little value in those hills.”

”The instructions were-“

”I will not be dictated to! You may tell that Lord that if he wants my help to continue he will have to offer more than promises and orders.”

”There is more.” The pirate looked as though saying even that much terrified her. “Another message from the Central Delta. He wants dragon powder. A great deal of it. Before Sun Li’s wedding.”

”That’s only a little over a month to prepare!” Zihao said, startled.

”And he said he’s coming here to collect it.”

”He’s coming _here _?” Zihao swore. “Anyone else and I could have bulked out the powder a little but we’re truly going to have to get hold of this much dragon powder.” Zihao scrunched her nose and raised a hand to move stray hairs from her brow. The bridge of her nose still ached faintly: remnants of all the times it had been broken. “Send my response to Phoenix Gate. Tell him I will send one small group of raiders to the larger settlements in the west. Then I want you to tell the engineers to begin stockpiling what dragon powder we have around the base.”__

__  
_ _

The pirate nodded and sprinted down the ramp, anxious to get away before Zihao’s mood could turn worse.

Another thought struck her and she shouted to the pirate’s back. “And find my son! Send him up to the workshop!”

Less than an hour later and Gao walked into the workshop. Zihao’s son was fifteen, with a round, waxy face and a perpetually sullen expression. Gao did not inherit much from his mother, but his looks were one of the few things that could be easily traced from one to the other. Zihao could only hope that any children her son may have in the future would take after their mother in this regard at least.

The two began the slow work of picking through the carcass of a flyer, broken beyond saving in the last raid, seeing if any parts could still be salvaged. As happened most times Zihao tried to teach her son a little of her engineering habits, he replied with a sneer.

”What’s the _point_ of this > We have enough engineers, just let them deal with the flyers.”

”These machines are our life. Not bothering to learn to repair them is like not refusing to learn to swim while you stand in the ocean, praying that the waves won’t take you.”

”I wouldn’t stand in the sea if I couldn’t swim.” Gao said, as always entirely missing the point of whatever she would tell him. Whether he did it deliberately or not, Zihao did not know and by this point she found that she did not care much either.

”Do you not want to continue my work? To let all of this rot away into rust and squabbling?”

”Why do you always say to ‘continue’? You have a base of pirates but you never push for more.” 

”We survive because we are small- small enough that the Emperor and slavers pass us by.” Zihao turned serious, “The truth of this life is simple: all those Lords and Emperors would much rather spend their lives killing each other than bother with us. If someone gets too big for their liking, however, it’s an easy enough thing to crush them. So I keep this small. Emperor Sun hears of a few pirate raids, maybe once or twice he sends some more to the towns we raid, but by then we’ve already moved on.”

”What about all of this with Phoenix Gate? That doesn’t seem like staying small and out of danger.” Gao said. 

Zihao stared. She had not expected him to have noticed what had been happening over the past few months.

”That’s a special case.” Zihao pulled a broken power core out of the flyer and handed it over to Gao, “There’s no danger in backing the winning side.”


	4. Jiangnu I

Jiangnu

  
  


Jiangnu awoke sore and miserable. The previous night she had gone for one final ride on the flats around the city as a sort of farewell, but was regretting it now that her back and thighs stung. She still had red, livid marks on her hands where she had been gripping her horse’s reins too hard in her grief and agitation. Jiangnu had never seen the Imperial Palace but she had always heard that it floated above the city like a great, gilded cloud. Any attempts to ride a horse out of it would swiftly prove disastrous.

At last Jiangnu realised there was little point in wallowing in the dark, and dressed. She chose a soft, pale blue gown- something that wouldn’t itch or become uncomfortable on the long flight south- golden hemmed with patterns of summer birds and flowers stitched into the sleeves and neck. The rest of her possessions that she would want in the Imperial City had already been secured on the flyer the night before. Just enough of her jewellery had been left out for her to give the proper impression upon her arrival, mostly sapphires: her mother had always told her that blue was the colour she most favoured. Jiangnu preferred pink.

Once dressed, she opened all the windows to get one more look at the rest of the city. While the Broken Palace was not hovering in the air like the one she would soon be moving into, it sat on a hill on the southern edge of the Old City. If the city had had a proper name once, it had long been swept away by time and the trample of hooves. The Zeng family ruled most of the land to the immediate south of the Wall, ending as the land slowly turned greener on the road south to the Imperial City. Her family still carried the Zeng name, claiming descendance from the warlord Zeng Sai who had nearly taken the Jade Empire centuries ago. In the north, the name held weight but to the south- removed from the shadow of the Wall- they sneered at them as being more Horse Lord than Imperial. If anyone were to ask the Horse Lords themselves, Jiangnu was certain they would see them as Imperials disgracing Zeng Sai’s name.

The Old City was a strange beast They lived in homes as intricate as any other city in the Seat of Heaven, but tended to dress plainly- preferring practicality to fashion. They had a ruling Lord, a title passed through the family rather than taken by shows of power as their northern cousins would, but there was always a greater sense of kinship with the rest of the people who called the Old City their home. Perhaps it was that most of them too were outsiders from the rest of the Jade Empire. But Jiangnu suspected that the frequent shortages of water forced some level of community to stave off riots and rebellions.

Jiangnu made her way down the stairs that led up to her room in search of her family and her one last meal in her home for a long time. When her mother had told her that they had finally found a day for her wedding after the mourning period for Emperor Wen had ended, Jiangnu had felt strangely sick. The Old City was her place, and had been for generations of Zengs stretching back through the years. Unlike the other powerful families of the Jade Empire, they had not had much interaction with the Sun family. That had changed eighteen years ago when her grandfather had led a failed rebellion after it was called into question whether Emperor Wen had been involved in the sudden death of his younger brother. This rebellion was the reason Jiangnu was being batered away; the terms agreed before she was able to walk. At first, Emperor Wen had attempted to prevent future rebellion with the promise that a Zeng would be Empress. For most of her childhood, she had been prepared to marry Sun Hai and rule the Jade Empire at his side. However, that all changed five years earlier when the news came that Hai had broken the engagement to marry someone else- a childhood friend from a powerful family in the Prosperous East. Jiangnu still remembered the days immediately following vividly: messages hurtling back and forth between the capital and the Old City. If her parents were angry or disappointed that she would not be Empress, they did not show it. Soon enough, it was decided that she would marry the second brother- Prince Sun Li- instead. Yet, despite the warning, Jiangnu had rarely thought of it over the years. Her marriage had seemed so distant, as though it would happen to someone else. She had never even met Prince Li. Several years ago she had received two letters- the first informing her of his death when he had been fighting bandits in the Great Southern Forest, and the second stating that he had in fact survived the battle and his apparent death was a part of a strategy to lower their defences and allow him to defeat the bandit leader.

The windows had all been opened and the morning sun bathed everything in a warm pink glow, along with the three gathered around the table that dominated the room. Jiangnu cleared her throat to announce her arrival and took a seat in beside her younger sister, Wu. A small mountain of peaches was piled on the bowl immediately in front of her and she carefully nudged it back before taking one for herself.

Jiangnu looked around the table, first at her sister then to her parents.

“Where’s Lu?” She asked Wu, who scrunched her face up and shrugged.

“Probably still asleep.”

“He does know that we’re leaving this morning?”

Wu was silent for a moment, clearly having to think about her answer. “I’m sure I mentioned it to him a couple of times.”

Sensing the beginning of an argument in the air, her mother sighed and stood up.

“I’ll make sure he’s awake.” She gave Jiangnu a reassuring smile before walking gracefully from the room, so quietly that she could almost have been floating.

The three remaining ate in silence. Jiangnu could not help but feel that it was the prelude to a funeral, rather than a wedding. For a few moments, it seemed as though her father was about to speak but he just coughed and continued eating. Even Wu had somehow found it in her to say nothing for once.

She drifted in and out of alertness. The room began to heat as the heady summer air drifted lazily though the palace, bringing with it the smell of the city and wrapping around her eyelids like a shroud. As tired as she had been from her ride the previous night, it had taken hours before Jiangnu had been able to get even a moment’s sleep. She sat up as her mother returned to the room, her younger brother walking behind her uneasily.

“So, was he awake?” Wu grinned.

“Yes. He also recommended that we delay our departure so he could have a few more hours in bed.” Their mother said.

Lu slumped down onto the chair between Wu and their father and grabbed a peach from the bowl. “The wedding isn’t for another month! I’m not sure why we have to be there now.”

“Emperor Sun Hai invited Jiangnu there to get used to her new home. And you two should spend some time in the Imperial City, it’s a very different place from home.” Their mother told them. Jiangnu could almost hear her dancing very carefully around her words. She could tell the true reason. Her family wouldn’t have much time to visit her after she was married, and Wu at least would have to return north with them. In a little over a month she would be alone, with a strange new family in a palace that was not her home.

Jiangnu was beginning she wish that she had just stayed in bed. Stayed in her room, pulled the sheets over her head and refused to leave. If anyone had given her the choice, she would have wanted to live the rest of her life within the walls of the Old City, walking familiar paths stamped with the patterns of hooves, waking each morning in the shadow of the Wall.

But there was no choice in this.

No choice at all.


	5. Huan I

Huan

  
  


The lone monk drew her cloak tighter as the sharp mountain air bit into her exposed cheeks. Not for the first time, she was thankful that she was making the long journey from the Land of Howling Spirits to the Imperial City during the summer- the mountains passes would be impossible to traverse once the winter blizzards began for a lone traveller. Even an army would have trouble clearing the paths.

Huan drew the hood up tighter, squinting into the horizon. She could just about see the valley which marked the end of the Land of Six Scrolls. Beyond that, it would be a simple week’s travel to the city if she was fortunate enough to find a horse or cart. It had already taken her nearly two months to make her way through the mountains from Dirge and she was anxious to continue her quest as soon as possible.

She made it to the next village on her path and easily found a room at its tiny inn. Even so far from Dirge, the robes of the Spirit Monks were recognisable to any who lived so far west and it was not the first time one of their people had been forced to rely on their hospitality. Spirit Monks rarely left Dirge except on the occasional mission to learn the latest news they would not be able to gather from the villagers who brought fresh food and supplies to the temple every few months. Once she was through the mountains, however, Huan knew that she would need to find some other way of getting by. For most of the Empire, the Spirit Monks were still stories- fables of great warrior monks who defeated the ruthless Horselords centuries ago before fading into myth. It was partly for that reason that Abbot Cheng had been so furious about her wish to leave. The two of them had shouted themselves hoarse on the day of her departure and she was still unsure of the welcome she would receive when she returned.

It had all begun nearly three months earlier, when a group from the nearby village had come to the temple, along with a man from a village further into the Empire. He had claimed that pirates had been attacking not just his home, but many settlements across the entire province as well as the Golden Delta to the south. All he had owned had been stolen, his family and friends cut down in front of him, and his home burnt to the ground. All the pleas for help sent to the City had either never reached the Emperor or had been ignored. The man had heard of the great Spirit Monks and had begged for assistance to stop the pirates. While Abbot Cheng had been moved by the man’s grief, he had refused to involve them.

However, in the middle of the meeting of all the monks who called Dirge their home, Huan had loudly declared that she would bring the matter before the Emperor and, in the case that he would not help, she would fight the pirates herself. Cheng had looked close to strangling her.

And so, she had set off. On the morning before she left, Cheng had told her that he had spoken with the Water Dragon. She claimed that she could not see all ends, that the road Huan was starting on could lead them somewhere unknown and in that uncertainty, lay danger. Huan knew the wisdom of the Water Dragon- she had been taught it since her birth right there in the temple- but she cared much more about the danger that the people were in at that moment, than what might come years in the future.

The next morning, she was ready to move on again, passing through craggy crevices and scrambling up a gorge before she was confident that she was nearly onto flatter ground. The next night, Huan camped on a plateau, sleeping out in the open beneath the stars with no company but the fire she had managed to make from the wood she had carried with her from the previous village. The innkeeper there had also been kind enough to provide her with some food for the rest of the journey so she didn’t need to worry about going hungry on the way.

She lived like that for just a few more days until Huan finally made it to the shelter of the trees in the Great Western Forest that marked the border of the Seat of Heaven. That was when the trouble began.

Huan had been hiking through the dense trees when she had first caught the scent of smoke, burning through her nostrils and making her eyes water. Soon, however she heard the loud _CRASH_ of something large and heavy collapsing. It only took a few minutes after that for her to make her way through the trees and find the source of the chaos.

Huan had managed to wander right into the middle of a battle between a group in odd, mismatched clothing defending a large, partially broken fort, and an attacking force all in the armour of the Imperial Army. Huan realised at once what was happening: the army was bringing down a bandit fort.

There was another loud _CRASH_ as a second wall came tumbling down, unable to stand against the concentrated might of the army.

Before Huan could quietly walk back the way she had come, one of the bandits on a watch tower shouted something she couldn’t hear and pointed out her.

There was nothing else for it.

Huan discarded her cloak, leaving her in the traditional dark blue robes of the Spirit Monks, slashed across by a sash of yellow silk. She took a moment to focus and hurled an ice shard at the pointing bandit. The ice struck exactly, and he fell backwards.

The other bandits on the remaining walls and tower were casting around wildly for the source of the attack and Huan launched herself into the fight, freezing bandits in an instant before following through with a swift strike while they were defenceless. The soldiers seemed to have noticed that she was there as well. She heard their leader- covered from head to toe in black armour- shout a command and point up to the bandits raining arrows down on them from the walls. Huan understood at once, focusing her magic on them and leaving those on the ground to the soldiers to deal with.

In mere moments, the soldiers had made it through the breach in the walls but Huan hung back, unsure whether or not to leave them to it and continue her journey. She soon decided to stay. If there were any more bandits in the forest, she wanted some warning. She waited only a few minutes before sprinting through to the inside of the bandit fought. Instead of a battle, instead she saw both soldiers and bandits gathered in a circle. Huan tentatively pushed her way through so she could see what was going on. In the middle of the circle were only two figures: the armoured soldier and a massive, hulking man facing him. Both were circling each other, swords ready.

“What’s going on?” Huan asked the soldier to her left, a young woman with silk ribbons tied into her bun.

“They’ve agreed to settle the battle with a single fight. The bandit leader against ours’.” The soldier said, only sparing a single curious glance to her before returning her attention to the fight.

The bandit leader rushed forward, swinging his sword as though it were a cleaver. The armoured man just side stepped and Huan had to stop herself from letting her jaw drop. The man moved faster than her eye could quite keep up with, although still not confident enough to move out of the defensive position.

There was a terrible metallic splintering sound. One of the bandit’s swipes had found it’s mark and the armoured man’s sword was broken- the shattered half raining down around them. The bandit shielded his eyes and the army’s leader took advantage of the momentary distraction, discarding the broken blade and driving forward to strike his opponent in the stomach, chest, and side with dizzying speed. The bandit gasped in pain and toppled to the ground, unmoving.

Huan was nearly deafened as the soldiers surrounding them let out a great roar of triumph. While the rest of them dealt with the business of destroying the fort and chasing off the bandits, the woman that had been standing beside Huan walked forward slowly, arms folded.

“Third sword this week, Li. Do you have something against dodging?”

The man removed his helmet and, not for the first time that day, Huan was shocked. She had been expecting some old general but the man before her could not be older than his early twenties.

“Weren’t you just saying that my parrying needs improvement, Ling?”

There was a careless arrogance to the way he spoke, but something felt slightly off to Huan- something she couldn’t put into words.

“I meant it as a note when you’re training. Not to risk an arm in an actual battle.” Ling frowned, “What did this one say to you to rile you up?”

“Just the usual. Threats of cutting my head off and sending it to my brother.” The man sneered, “He didn’t seem too pleased when I told him that Hai wouldn’t be too bothered. Would probably make him a Lord, actually.”

The man seemed to notice that Huan was still standing there, only a few feet from the two of them as well as the still body of the bandit leader.

“Thank you for your assistance during the fight, unexpected as it was.” He smiled and made his way over to Huan. “Interesting styles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone fight quite like that. Where are you travelling from?”

The man was definitely a stranger to the western Empire, Huan reflected, if her clothing did not give her away instantly.

“The west.” She shrugged. “I was travelling to the Imperial City and just ended up in the middle of that.”

The man laughed, “As was I. I imagine you’re going there for my wedding- same reason as half the Empire.”

Huan was confused.

“Your wedding?”

Ling stepped in. “You have the honour of addressing Prince Sun Li.”

The Spirit Monks were entirely removed from most of the customs of the Empire but even Huan knew the cue to turn red and bow apologetically. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise.” She rose, “But if you are the Prince, maybe you can help me. I’m on my way to speak to the Emperor about the pirate raids and try and get assistance in stopping them.”

Prince Li nodded, still amused, but Huan noticed the woman behind him had a remarkably neutral expression on her face- a far cry from the smile she had been wearing only seconds before. However, her attention was drawn by the sound of a staff clattering to the ground and a fist hitting an armoured arm in the edges of her sight.

“Mei! Do you see her!” One of the soldiers was shouting at his fellow, who winced in discomfort and rubbed her arm.

“Yes, Wen. Unbelievably, I can see a woman standing right in front of me.”

“No! Do you see what she’s wearing?!” Huan braced herself, “She’s a Spirit Monk!”

Huan grimaced. There was no chance in hiding who she was now. The entire group turned to look at the two soldiers. Wen seemed to understand that he had been louder than he had first assumed and had the grace to look embarrassed. Even that did not last long as he seemed unable to contain his excitement and hurried over to where Huan was standing.

“I never thought I’d see- A real- what are you doing so far from Dirge?” Wen’s questions tripped over each other on his lips and came out jumbled.

Li was laughing again. “A Spirit Monk? Quaint.” He shook his head, “Legendary warriors who defeated the Horselords. Even if they existed once, they’re long gone now. Just stories to inspire the foolish.”

“It’s true, your Highness! My whole family’s from a village to the far west of the Land of Six Scrolls! They told me all about them!” Wen insisted, “So _are_ you? Are you a Spirit Monk?”

Huan stepped back, her eyes flickering from one face to the next; Prince Li with his eyebrows raised and a smirk still on his face; Mei looking like she wanted the earth to swallow her from the attention her friend had brought; Ling still watching, now with the expression of someone who’s mind was working a mile a minute; and Wen beaming expectantly at her.

“It’s true.” Huan said, finally, “I’m a Spirit Monk.”


	6. Shufen I

Shufen

  
  


Shufen had spent the last week ensuring every single aspect of the morning would happen as smoothly as possible. The entrance to the Palace where the flyer would land had been selected with the aim to make sure that the walk from there to the rooms where the family would be staying passed through the more impressive areas while remaining a relatively short distance. She would personally escort Lady Jiangnu ahead of the rest of the family who would remain a few steps behind with her servants and the other assembled curious members of the court. It would allow precious little time to get the measure of the woman but Shufen already had an idea of what to expect.

Zeng Jiangnu had spent most of her life believing that she would one day become Empress and thanks to Shufen, she would be marrying the second son instead- always just within sight of the throne but never quite able to reach out and take it. Jiangnu had had nearly five years to nurse that resentment.

She and Hai walked through the Palace together in a comfortable silence. They had had so many years together that on occasion there were times that neither felt the need to say anything: it had already been said before. Both were wearing formal robes, dyed rich gold and red- the gold for the Sun family and the red in the same shade as the robes of the Lotus Monks. Behind them walked her maids, all dressed in plain pale pinks and blues. She had asked all of them to accompany them- all except Jia who would be in the middle of the traditional days of isolation all new Lotus Monks went through. It would also give her the chance to study the other steps she would have to take in the coming months. Shufen didn’t realise how much she missed her friend until that morning when she caught herself about to turn around to confide her worries about Lady Jiangnu and had been faced with an empty space.

At last, the small group arrived at the docking bay and Shufen straightened her back to stand as tall as she could. Hai moved a little ahead of her to take his place as the first one to great the arrivals. Shufen thought she could see the approaching shape of the flyer coming towards them but she could not be certain.

Her attention was taken by the sound of approaching footsteps. Shufen frowned- they were not expecting many more to be there to meet the Zeng family- and looked behind her. She nearly swore.

Empress Lan the Hand of Heaven was approaching, surrounded by a small flock of Lotus Monks including Prince Kin. Shufen had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from screaming. The pain also stopped her from glaring at the maid she was certain was responsible for this. Instead, she put on a smile so broad she felt her lips sting and approached her mother-in-law.

“Mother! What an unexpected pleasure!” She breezed through the Lotus Monks as though they were grass in a field and took Lan’s hands in her own. “What are you doing here?”

“I simply wished to greet my future daughter-in-law.” Land replied, wearing a small smile of her own.

_Coming to make sure she gets her talons in the girl and sways her away from me_. Shufen thought, bitterly. Shufen wondered if she moved her hands away fast enough, Lan would lose balance and fall over. _It would serve her right for wearing such an obnoxiously large headdress_.

“Good morning as well Prince Kin.” Shufen shifted her gaze to the boy standing by Lan’s side. He was wearing the robes of an acolyte but she knew that he had been training with the Monks since he could walk. Sun Kin was the third brother and the future Hand of Heaven. Shufen naturally didn’t trust anyone who spent so much time in the former Empress’ company- fifteen though he may be.

Kin gave a polite bow but gave every impression of a boy who had been cajoled or threatened into being there.

Shufen walked back to her place and quieted her mind as she waited for the flyer. She could see it approaching now, closer and closer with every passing second. Shufen breathed deepily and stood as still as stone.

At last, the machine landed before them and the servants on the ground ran over to stand to the sides of where the ramp fell down- ready to make sure there were no problems with the mechanics.

First, a man and woman walked down together and stopped to bow to Hai and give a small greeting. Shufen guessed these must be the parents and returned the bow they gave her with a smile and a few words expressing her hope that they had an easy journey. Her attention focused back on the ramp as the parents went to speak with Lan.

Zeng Jiangnu stepped down the ramp up to the flyer and Shufen was momentarily stunned. She wasn’t just pretty. Jiangnu stood a few inches shorter and had a perpetually windswept appearance but as she moved, one could be forgiven for feeling as though she lit up the room. Shufen was not used to feeling lesser. All through her life she had known exactly what her strength was- a fierce mind, committed to learning all that she could no matter what obstacles stood in her way. Somehow, within a few seconds, this girl made her feel as though it were not enough.

If Hai noticed how the woman who would have been his wife looked, he made no indication. His bow and greeting were all within the strict bounds of traditional formality. Still, Shufen felt her breath catch and burn in her lungs. It took everything in her to smile as Zeng Jiangnu walked up to her and bowed gracefully.

“It’s a great honour to meet you Empress.” Jiangnu said. Her voiced wavered a little but a smile broke across her face and Shufen was inexplicably reminded of the light of dawn breaking through the night. Shufen swallowed hard and nodded her head in return.

“And you, Lady Jiangnu. And please, call me Shufen- we are going to be sisters soon after all.”

“Alright then. Thank you, Shufen.”

“I’ll let you meet Empress Lan, but I’ll be more than happy to accompany you on the walk to your apartments in a moment.”

“That would be great, thank you.” If it were at all possible, Jiangnu’s smile brightened further.

As soon as she had turned her back to speak to Lan, Shufen breathed a sigh of relief. She nearly jumped in surprise when she came face to face with a girl and boy standing in front of her. Her mind whirled for a second before she remembered that these must be Jiangnu’s younger siblings. They bowed in unison but Shufen’s own greeting was forgotten in the moment as she heard a voice from behind her.

“Finally! We’ve greeted Lady Jiangnu, any chance we can wrap this all up soon?”

Followed swiftly by the sound of Prince Kin crying out in pain.

“Ow! Mama!”

Shufen looked to see Kin rubbing his arm and Lan fixing him with an angry look. His sleeves covered his upper arm but Shufen was certain there was already a small red mark from where she had pinched him.

“Um,” Shufen shook her head to clear her thoughts and prevent herself from joining in the snickering of the two in front of her. She didn’t need to wait for long until Jiangnu returned to her side.

“Wu, Lu, I think we’re about to start moving. Go to mother and father so you don’t get lost.” She told them.

Shufen caught Hai’s eye over the heads of the siblings and inclined her head towards the parents. He nodded- understanding that she wanted him to walk behind with the rest of the family while she escorted Jiangnu. She wanted to know exactly what she was dealing with and there was nothing better than a walk together to learn all she needed to.

The Empress took her arm and the two women began to walk, her maids falling in behind them.

“Is- um…” Jiangnu began to speak but stopped and started too often to give a full sentence, “Is Prince Li…?”

“I’m afraid he’s not returned yet, Jiangnu.” Shufen said, “Some business with bandits in the forests on the borders has kept him away longer than planned. I’m certain he’ll return soon.”

Jiangnu nodded and Shufen watched her, frantically trying to read her expression.

_Is she disappointed? Relieved?_

The two made their way into the first long hallway on their way through the Palace.

“Remember that I am always close by, I hope you’ll always feel that you can call on me if there is anything wrong.” She thought back to the Lotus Monks walking somewhere behind them, “Anything at all.”


	7. Wu I

Wu

  
  


No words in any language could express how bored Wu was as she trudged through the palace halls. The rest of the party had split into its own little groups; her parents were discussing the details of the wedding itself with the Emperor; Lu was listening intently as Prince Kin told him about the history of the Lotus Monks, interjecting occasionally with his own knowledge of important events; Jiangnu was still walking at the front, her arm linked with the Empress’ as though they had known each other all their lives. With no one to speak with, her attention drifted to the enormous tapestry that took up the wall of the room they were going through. A figure in dark blue knelt before a dragon on one section of it while a waterfall streamed down behind them. Below that, a whole crowd of blue-clad figures were raising their staves against a line of horses. Below that, a single figure was walking East, her robe changing from blue to red. 

“We are passing by the entrance to the palace’s Lotus Monk quarters.” A voice spoke up behind her and Wu jumped. She noticed, a little embarrassed, that she had stopped to look at the tapestry and the rest of the group and moved on. The voice belonged to a woman in dark scarlet robes, slashed with black across the arms, and with a golden sash around her middle. A heavy-looking headdress that resembled a sunrise over a horizon, with small metal spikes interspersing the circle like rays of light, rose from the back of her head. It was Empress Lan, the Hand of Heaven. “This is one of the oldest records of history left in the Jade Empire.” Lan nodded up to the very top of the tapestry, where the man knelt in front of the dragon. “It details the story of the Lotus Monks, back to our founding.” She pointed at the image of the woman with the robes that changed colour. “To our reinstatement nearly fifty years ago.” She indicated the last image, to the bottom right of the work. A young woman clashed staves with an older man. Beneath their crossed weapons was an empty throne. “Every Hand of Heaven hopes that their deeds with someday be made a part of this tapestry. It is how they are remembered.”

Wu listened politely, not wanting to give any open offense. Truly, she didn’t really care for the history of it all. She had just wanted to look at the stitching.

“Shouldn’t the older parts have rotted away by now?” The blue thread of the dragon was far too bright to be so old.

“Part of the duties of the Lotus Monks in the palace is to take it down and repair it every now and then.” Lan said, “We trust no others with our history. Without our past, how can we move forward?”

Wu felt as though the older woman was trying to impart a life lesson to her and stepped back.

“I should catch up to the rest.” She explained.

Lan smiled and nodded. “As should I. I dread to think what my sons have managed to do in my absence. If Kin hasn’t started a national incident while I’ve been gone, it’ll be a good day.”

The two walked together, past more art. Every so often, Lan would explain the history behind some of it that was connected in some way to the Lotus Monks’ history and Wu would pretend to listen intently. At last, they managed to catch up with the others just in time for them to reach the apartments that the Zeng family would inhabit until Jiangnu was married.

Later that night, as she lay on the impossibly comfortable bed that would be hers’ for the next month, Wu couldn’t take her mind off the tapestry. Especially, that first image. She rolled onto her side and shut her eyes as tight as she could, willing herself to sleep but all she could see behind the closed lids was the image of a great blue dragon, and the monk kneeling before it. 

When she finally managed to sleep, she dreamed of a waterfall that never reached the ground.


	8. Huan II

Huan

  
  


After reporting the flight of the bandits at the main army encampment out of the forest, their progress to the Imperial City was swift and sure once they had made it through the rains. After the battle, Huan had agreed to stay on with the soldiers to make faster progress. The prospect of eating every day and sleeping under a tent each night also may have had some bearing upon her choice. Ling had offered the Spirit Monk a space in her tent- Huan quickly worked out that she was of high enough status to merit having one to herself and was accordingly grateful.

Huan realised that what she had taken as wariness on their first meeting was in fact a natural nervousness around a stranger. She doubted she could have made a very comforting first impression as she came out of nowhere and joined a battle she had no business being anywhere near before declaring herself to be part of a people that some thought to have died out centuries ago.

Ling seemed happy with what little information she gave, accepting her presence as the day’s journey turned into a week. Prince Li, on the other hand, seemed very interested in what she could tell him about Dirge and the Spirit Monks in general. Huan was unsurprised that he had believed they had faded into obscurity, as she explained one day as they trudged through marshlands: normally a Spirit Monk only left the Land of Howling Spirits when they heard about a spirit that could not find the path to the temple on their own and needed guidance, and in those cases the Spirit Monk in question would not make much contact with other people.

However fascinated Sun Li was with the Spirit Monks, it was nothing compared to Huan’s desire to learn everything she could about the Empire, especially the city she was about to enter. On the fifth evening of their march, as they camped on a wide open plain, she learned that Ling’s father, Lord Zhong, was the current head of the Imperial Army.

“I thought that the current Emperor’s second child took that role?” Huan asked, frowning. That was how it had been in all the books she had read at Dirge.

“Traditionally, yes.” Ling explained, “But Emperor Sun Wen had no surviving siblings. My father is the son of Sun Wen’s aunt: Sun Jen Hai, the Shield of the Empire. After her death, that responsibility passed on to him.”

“So you’re…”

“Prince Li’s father’s cousin’s daughter.” Ling said, smiling a little at Huan’s confusion. “But we normally just call ourselves cousins, saves a lot of time and energy.” “How do you all manage to keep track of all that?”

“It’s always worth knowing your history and where you stand in it. I’m quite proud to be a Sun, even if it’s only a cousin. Besides, knowing things like that can help to stop infighting: if everyone knows what they’re meant to do from birth they’re less likely to start agitating for more power when they get older. You do sometimes get the occasional cousin that wants to make a push for a better position, or a younger sibling trying to overtake the elder, but it’s rare. How do Spirit Monks choose their leaders?”

“We just sort of…talk about it in one of the meetings. I don’t really think of the Abbots the same way you do the Emperor or a General: they don’t really give many orders. They just make sure the temple is still in one piece and the Water Dragon doesn’t have anything specific that we need to be doing. I think there’s some rules about their duty in the case of an attack but we’ve never had one of those.”

“Never? All I’d heard about the Spirit Monks was that they’ve been around longer than the Empire itself. And no one’s ever tried anything in all that time?”

Huan thought for a moment before shaking her head. “We have nothing worth stealing to bandits, nothing worth conquering for an Emperor. To attack Dirge you’d need to know that it existed in the first place, as well as where it is. Then just to reach it means months of travel through the mountains. We have other defences too, around the temple itself but as far as I can tell they’ve never been tested.”

“Amazing.” Ling said, “The Golden Delta’s nothing like that. Most of the farming in the Empire is done there so there’s always someone out to try and take it. It was quiet for a time though, at least until the pirates started getting their hands on flyers.”

Huan’s attention sharpened. “That’s what I came to the Empire for!” She told the other woman, “We started getting survivors from pirate attacks coming further west and I said I’d stop them.”

Ling was silent for a few moments and Huan had the distinct impression that she was evaluating her carefully. Finally she spoke, “Speaking to the Emperor will be a good start at least. Although I don’t know how much aid you’ll be able to find, at least before the wedding. Anyone that they might have been able to spare will be in the city.”

“Oh.” Huan felt a bit crestfallen. She had hoped that her quest would take a few weeks at most. She would defeat the pirate leader, save the villagers, and be back on her way to Dirge before the winter. Now it seemed those hopes were destined to be dashed.

“If you speak to Li, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind talking the Emperor into hosting you in the Imperial Palace. I’m certain they’d be honoured to have a Spirit Monk there. Just watch- the Lotus Monks won’t be able to resist talking endlessly about what a good sign it is for the marriage.” Ling laughed. “And you’d love the Palace- look over any of the balconies and you have the entire city beneath you, as well as the rest of the province stretching back as far as the eye can see.”

“It does sound wonderful.” Huan agreed, “But I wouldn’t want to intrude so close to the wedding.”

“It would be no intrusion.” Ling lowered her voice, “To tell you the truth, I think Li would welcome any distraction from it. He’s not exactly pleased by the whole thing.”

“Really?”

“Mmm. I can’t say I blame him. He’s never even met this girl.” Ling said, “And the only reason they’re getting married is because his brother didn’t want her. And as if that weren’t bad enough, she’s from one of those half-Horselord families from the Wall.”

That was a term that Huan recognised. “She’s from the lands past the Wall?”

Ling shook her head. “No, only _just_ this side of it. I can’t quite see why Emperor Wen agreed to the match. A Fan or a Yun maybe. But…” Ling yawned. “It’s late, and we have another day’s travel tomorrow. Better get some sleep while we can.”


	9. Jiangnu II

Jiangnu

  
  


The week crept past as Jiangnu got to grips with her new home, a gnawing restlessness growing more insistently within her every day. The room she had been given would soon be empty again after the wedding but, with little else to occupy herself with, she took the time to familiarise herself with them. When she was married, her family would return to the Old City and she would move into the western side of the palace.

Jiangnu had not realised how removed the Old City had been from the Imperial City. The first concern upon her arrival had been the noise- flyers thundered through the skies around the palace so frequently and it seemed everyone else had gotten so used to the sound that they hardly registered it. In fact, it was apparently an unconscious instinct for the palace’s usual residents to pause their sentences briefly to allow the shuddering roars of the machines to fade before continuing the conversation as though nothing had happened.

The second problem with the palace was the cold. Despite the fact that they were in the final days of summer, Jiangnu felt the need to dress as though it was long past. Whether because of the height of the palace or due to the climate of the southern Seat of Heaven, she always felt a chill in the air whenever she found herself in one of the areas of the palace that was unshielded by a roof.

Above all else, Jiangnu was simply _bored_ ; her parents spent their days planning the wedding (something that Jiangnu was stubborn in her desire to avoid thinking about); Wu would vanish for hours at a time to explore and would come back late in the evenings, usually caked in dust or cobwebs; finally, Lu had struck up a friendship with Prince Kin and if he was not joining Wu on one of her adventures, he was most likely to be with him. Wu had offered to take Jiangnu with them when they went to look at the tombs of the previous Emperors and Empresses but she had declined. It would have sounded extremely foolish to voice the thought, but it was almost as though the less she saw of the rest of the palace, the more she could convince herself that she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life there: that she would be joining the rest of her family when they made their way back north in a few weeks’ time.

At first, it had appeared to be another of those days until Jiangnu had been shaken out of her thoughts by a knock. Getting to her feet, she made her way to the doors and slid them open. A servant stood before her, bowing low and extending a scroll in one hand. Jiangnu thanked him and closed the doors again, returning to her seat and inspecting the note.

The first thing she noticed was that it had two seals. The first showed two phoenixes positioned above a gate, while the second was the traditional symbol of the current Emperor or Empress’ spouse. Jiangnu opened the scroll hastily.

  
  


_Lady Zeng Jiangnu, daughter of Lord Zeng of the Old City,_

_  
_

_First I must beg your forgiveness for my absence over the past week. Several important matters had arisen that required my attention and I regret that I was unable to ensure that you were comfortable in your residence._

_I write to you to ask if you are willing to come down to the city with me tomorrow? I understand that this is your first time in the Imperial City and I would be delighted to escort you to the most notable sights._

_If you wish to come with me, I will send a servant to bring you to the dock at noon tomorrow,_

_Empress Sun Shufen, Sister of Lord Fan of Phoenix Gate_

  
  


Jiangnu stared at the message, reading and rereading it several more times before it fully sunk in. She had only spoken to the Empress briefly on the walk between the dock and her rooms and had no idea what to make of her. The other woman had seemed distracted, often casting glances over to wherever the Lotus Monks accompanying them were walking. _What does she expect from me?_ She thought, panicked. Even as far as the Old City, they had heard about how generous and well-loved Empress Shufen was. _Is that it? Does she want me to love her as much as everyone else? What if this is all a trick somehow?_ Jiangnu was not deaf to the ways that some of the nobles spoke about her family. _Even if it is some sort of trap: can I say no? I can’t offend the Empress_.

Besides, the prospect of seeing the Imperial City was not something to be thrown aside. For the rest of the day, until her family returned, Jiangnu painstakingly chose exactly what she was going to wear to meet the Empress. Nothing that was designed for the winter. Despite how cold she felt, Jiangnu didn’t want to stand out from the other noble women, and they were all still in their summer gowns.

By the time Wu and Lu barged into her bedroom, this time with stories about how they had found Empress Sun Ghufu's tomb, as well as those of Emperor Wen’s three siblings, she had finally settled on a dark pink dress which would suit her as well as anything else.

That night, Jiangnu found herself unable to sleep very much at all. Her mind kept racing with thoughts of how everything might go wrong. At last, however, she managed to force her mind to empty of its worries as she drifted into oblivion.


	10. Shufen II

Shufen

  
  


Moonlight streamed through the windows of the royal apartments but despite the late hour, Shufen was curled up on a couch on the wall away from the bed, staring at the other side of the room. She had already taken too much time to read the latest message from Jia to use it as an excuse for why she was not sleeping but she could not help the heavy knot of unease twisting in her gut.

The letter from Jia was nothing very urgent. Just letting her know that her period of isolation had ended, and that she was training with the rest of the Lotus Acolytes. She had not had much occasion to overhear anything important, but Jia had assured Shufen that she would find a way. 

She knew the real reason for her restless state. Meeting Lady Jiangnu that afternoon had unsettled her. She had not been sure what she had expected but it certainly wasn’t her. 

The Empress was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of movement.

“Still awake?” Hai’s voice broke clear through the darkness and Shufen glanced uselessly at the direction of the bed. “Whatever it is can wait, surely.”

“Mmm.” Shufen rubbed her face, exhausted.

There was the sound of more movement and she could tell Hai was sitting up, so he could get a better idea of where she was.

“Come on. You’ll wear yourself down.”

Shufen got up and walked over to perch on the edge by her husband’s side. She could just make out his outline in the silver glow of the moon. Without thinking much about her action, she shifted her arm and let him take her hand. Just the one simple act of physical contact made her feel suddenly anchored down to the room and her thoughts began to order themselves. Hai had known that since childhood; calming her whenever she panicked or became lost in thought. In turn, she was the only one able to bring him down from a rage- normally brought on by his brothers. 

“She… wasn’t what I was expecting.” Shufen admitted all at once. “She was much worse.”

“Who are we talking about?”

Shufen shot him a withering look that she was certain he couldn’t see. “Lady Jiangnu.”

“I suppose. I had been hoping that she’d be horribly dull and plain to make Li as miserable as he deserves.”

There was a pause before Shufen said. “Do you regret marrying me?”

“What?”

“You destroyed years of planning, ran the risk of causing another rebellion, pushed your brother even further away afterwards. And now you see _her_ and she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. And you…you can’t tell me you don’t regret it.” It was as though the walls of a dam holding years of fear had finally broken as everything came spilling from her lips. Her husband was silent for a moment before shifting closer, taking her hand out of his own and holding the sides of Shufen’s face carefully so that she was looking into the glimmers of light that were his eyes.

“Shufen…I can’t express just how little she means to me. How little all of them mean. None of it matters. None of them: only you.”

She let herself melt into the kiss that followed his words, eyes fluttering shut even as she began to focus her thoughts into a plan.

  
  
***  
  


The letter had gone through approximately seven different rewrites before Shufen was happy to hand it to the messenger and let it travel to Jiangnu. 

She had chosen for the day to coincide with her usual journey into the city every couple of weeks which would allow for her to get the true measure of the other woman as well as giving her some indication of the vast amount of loyalty she had cultivated as carefully as her garden. 

Despite all the thought, Shufen found herself nervous on the morning they were due to leave. She had given all of her maids the day to remain in the palace after she had prepared and walked to the dock their short-distance flyer would be departing from. She was not left waiting there for long- soon after her own arrival, she could make out the figure of Zeng Jiangnu, dressed in a deep blue gown striding hurriedly towards her. Shufen forced a smile onto her face as she greeted the other woman.

“It is good to see you again.” Shufen said, “I hope you and your family are settling into your apartments?”

“Yes, thank you Empress.” Jiangnu replied, “My siblings especially seem to be taking to it well.”

“That’s a relief. I know how daunting it can seem. And please, you must call me Shufen.”

“Thank you, Shufen.” Jiangnu nodded.

They made the flight down to the city in polite silence. Shufen had already decided to wait until they were in the city before she would start questioning Jiangnu, and Jiangnu was not pressing her into a conversation beyond a few small inquiries about her own well-being.

Not for the first time since she had left, Shufen was struck with a pang of sadness for the absence of Jia. The woman had never been one to speak when her voice was not wanted but instead kept a watchful eye on everything around them, ready to report all of it to Shufen later. Jia had been invaluable when she had first started making her trips into the city- finding out the general mood as well as specific places where she could do the most. Shufen still had no idea what made Jia so terrifyingly good at rooting out knowledge, but she had tried to emulate it as best as she could over the years.

“We are about to make our landing, your majesty.” The flyer’s pilot informed her. 

  
  
***  
  


“I need to go somewhere before we can really begin the day.” Shufen told her, “I hope you won’t be opposed but I often visit an orphanage near the market and see whether they need anything.”

Jiangnu looked taken aback but smiled reassuringly. “Of course I’m not opposed! I’d love to come with you.”

“Excellent.” Shufen nodded and led the way. She had first had the idea when Li had begun to teach Kin to use a sword in addition to his Lotus Monk training. It had been when the Sun family were visiting Phoenix Gate, before she had married Hai and still a few years before Li had left the Imperial City to train with the army, but it had stuck in her memory and persisted through the years. Kin had been only eight or nine but had pestered his older brother until he had given in and agreed to teach him the basics. Even nearly a decade later, Kin still looked to his brother as the authority on everything- even more than Hai who he should have obeyed as his Emperor. Shufen had quickly grasped the power of that loyalty but her sight wasn’t nearly so limited as teaching one child to play at battle.

“Here we are.” She announced. The orphanage was clearly expecting her visit and the caretaker was already standing outside, bowing low as she approached.

“Empress! It is a great honour, as always.” The caretaker exclaimed. He was an old, stooped man named Chin with a whiskery beard and walked with a slight limp in his right leg. 

“Thank you, Chin.” Shufen beamed and motioned for him to rise. “I’ve brought Lady Jiangnu with me today, I wanted to show her the Imperial City and I couldn’t imagine a better place to start.”

She knew at once that she had pleased him. Chin stood as tall as he was able, expression of joy making him seem years younger.

“You are kind beyond measure, Empress. And my Lady is most welcome here as well.” He bowed to Jiangnu as well.

They walked through to the main hall. Two years ago the orphanage- as well as the others like it in the Imperial City- had been in a state of disrepair but Shufen had quickly remedied that. “Tell me, is there anything that you or the children here are lacking?”

As Shufen spoke to the caretaker, Jiangnu had fallen behind to speak to a few of the children who had come running into the hall. Chin talked at length about how having a well placed closer to the orphanage might help them gather water with greater ease and place far less pressure on the other orphanage workers who were currently having to walk to the river to draw water for cooking and baths. Shufen assured him that she would speak with some builders to see what plans could be made. When she turned back, Jiangnu had vanished.

A quick search revealed her sitting on the floor with a gaggle of children who were telling her stories about their time at the orphanage and, Shufen was pleased to hear, about how the Empress would visit them all the time. 

Shufen stood back and watched for a moment. Speaking to the children seemed to come easier to Jiangnu than it ever had to her. She allowed herself another moment before turning back to speak with Chin about what else could be done.

As they left an hour or so later, she gave the usual reminder to Chin.

“Remember, if you should ever need anything for the children or the building come straight to me and I will see it done.”

  
  
***  
  


“I’m surprised you can walk so easily through the city.” Jiangnu said as they worked their way back towards the market, “Hardly anyone stops to bow unless you speak to them.”

“I’m usually accompanied by others- it’s hard to miss a small crowd walking through the streets. But sometimes I find it easier to avoid being noticed. It makes thing so much faster.”

The paused outside a blacksmith’s shop, a table covered in assorted weapons laid out proudly on display. As he called out, “Fine Imperial crafts! Direct from the forge!” Ah, ladies, interested in the finest swords and armour in the city? Let me know if you see anything that catches your attention.”

Shufen waved the merchant off with a smile and stood back to let Jiangnu browse. The younger woman peered intently at a sword that’s hilt had been designed to look like the head of a tiger, as though she was mentally weighing it.

“Interested in swords, Jiangnu?”

“Hm?” She glanced up, sunlight reflecting off the blade and cutting a shining wound across her throat. “A little. To tell you the truth I’m much better with a bow. Haven’t managed to find a blade that I’m comfortable with.”

“Oh? What’s wrong with them?”

“It’s a little foolish. I fell from my horse as a child and hurt my wrist. Even now I can’t lift anything particularly heavy.” Shufen walked over to her and joined her looking through the weapons on display on the table. “I’m sure I can find something that you can use. Personally I prefer unarmed styles. My brother was always much better with swords than I was and I decided to be better than him at something he didn’t train as much with.” Shufen laughed fondly, “I was a rather petty child.”

Jiangnu joined her, giggling into her sleeve politely. “I can’t quite imagine that.”

“Oh I was. Horribly competitive. It’s a wonder Shen still speaks to me.” Shufen looked up to the sky where the sun was already beginning to inch across the sky, “But I’m afraid to say you’ll have to wait to hear about all the ways I embarrassed him and myself until lunch. After that, I still have a great deal of the city to show you.”

  
  
***  
  


True to her word, Shufen spent the first part of their lunch telling stories all about the different ways she had run wild in Phoenix Gate during her childhood. It had only grown worse when she had been introduced to the Sun brothers- at the time only the elder two- and Hai had been more than happy to go along with her schemes to steal from the kitchens or to play tricks on both of their brothers. In return, Jiangnu had a few tales of her own youth. One, about how Wu had placed a stick in her bed and convinced her that it was a snake, had sent Shufen into peals of laughter. 

Jiangnu ate carefully, as though afraid that every bite might give offense in some way or other. Shufen chewed slowly, casting glances all about them. The workers were trying to avoid looking back at them every few minutes and utterly failing in the attempt.

Normally, Shufen would have eaten at the orphanage- it cemented all her talk of charity from the Sun family as well as her personal interest in the welfare of the children and gave her a chance to ask about what the opinions towards her husband among the people were. In general, she had found that the people were content. There was no great war or risk of some disaster. Not even the poorest among the City were entirely left out of the Empire’s bounty. Plague, flood, and drought were a distant memory to the older citizens and an imaginary terror to the children. 

“Do you have any other siblings, beside your brother?” Shufen was brought back out of her thoughts by the question. She returned her attention to Jiangnu who had stopped eating for a moment.

“No. How old are your brother and sister, Jiangnu? I didn’t get a chance to speak much with them.”

“Wu has just turned fourteen and Lu is twelve.” She responded. Shufen picked up on a wistful edge to her voice.

“You will miss them when you leave.” She commented. “I know I missed Phoenix Gate a great deal when I came to the city to stay. I suppose in a couple of weeks, we will be sisters.”

“Oh…yes, I suppose.” Shufen had thought that the idea might cheer her but instead, Jiangnu seemed downcast. “Do you…I mean, you’ve met him more time than I….do you know what Prince Li is like?”

“Well,” Shufen abandoned her food for the moment to think of what to say. The truth wouldn’t serve her well since the truth was that she neither trusted nor particularly liked Sun Li. “Most agree that he’s handsome and very brave…” She trailed off, uncertain of what else to say. “He’s been away from the city for some time but he should be returning within the week. I’m sure you’ll find out for yourself soon enough.”

“I’ve never even spoken to him.” Jiangnu admitted, “What if neither of us can find anything to say to each other?”

It was at that moment that Shufen recognised exactly who the other woman was and what she had been feeling since she had arrived at the palace. “There’s no use in worrying about it unless it happens. And something tells me you'll be fine.” She told her, firmly, “Now, I believe I have a city to introduce you to.”

  
  
***  
  


By the time they were done, Shufen had walked Jiangnu around all the notable sights of the Imperial City. They had seen a brief match at the arena, walked the grounds of the Black Leopard School, even taken a quick look at the entrance to the Necropolis, although both agreed that it did not feel like the time to visit it. By the evening, Shufen could not remember the last time she felt so exhausted but so cheerful at once.

Dusk had fallen on the Imperial City and all along the paths of the Scholar’s Garden, the lamplighters were in the middle of their work. The two women walked slolwly, letting the warm air of the dying days of summer breeze past them, gently ruffling their dresses.

Shufen had expected a rival, or at the very least another cold Sun who would smile through their grimaces at her. Instead she had found a charming, intelligent young woman with hidden weaknesses and kindness as unending as the heavens.

_How could Hai claim she is nothing?_ Shufen wondered as they made the ambling return to the landing space where the flyer back up to the palace was awaiting them.


	11. Huan III

Huan

  
  


As they passed through the Seat of Heaven, Huan realised that grand journeys may not have been for her after all. No matter how many times she was assured that they would reach the Imperial City any day, apparently her feet had not gotten the note and blistered just as badly as they had when the city was still weeks away. She cast her mind back to all the stories of heroes and their adventures that she had read in Dirge’s great library and she was certain that none of them mentioned the biting flies or the sweltering heat. The Spirit Monk robes that she wore had been designed for comfort in the Temple, deep in the frozen mountains, and were extremely unsuitable for autumn in the heart of the Empire. Still, they trudged on through hills and fields. One morning, as they traveled alongside the river that one of the soldiers had told Huan ran through the Imperial City, Ling told them that she was leaving./p>

“I need to return home before the wedding.” The gentle dawn breeze ruffled her hair, making the strips of silk she had tied there flutter and dance. “I haven’t seen my father in months.”

“Is it far to travel?” Huan asked.

“Alone, only a few days. Then we’ll be taking a flyer back.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to take a flyer from the city? Or wait for your father to go there? You said he’s going to the wedding as well.”

Ling paused for a moment before replying. “There are…things I must attend to on my way home. Appointments that cannot be delayed. Besides, my father is a very busy man. He will need assistance before he is ready to leave the Golden Delta.”

So it was that Ling set out by noon that day, soon only a dot of golden armor on the horizon as she rode south. Sun Li shook off Huan’s questioning whether someone ought to travel with her just in case she ran into trouble on the road.

“They haven’t found a bandit or a pirate that can stand against her. Especially when she fears running late."

That seemed to be the end of the conversation. Huan learned within days of joining the soldiers that the moment Li decided that he was tired of a discussion, he would simply end it and leave. Especially if the talk threatened to stray into the topic of his family.

A day later, as they passed over a steep series of hills, the Imperial City came into view at last. Huan could barely believe her eyes. She had heard tales all her life, but never before could she have even dreamed of how _big_ the place was. There would have to be _thousands_ living there, she thought in a daze. Most impressive of all, however, was the Imperial Palace floating in the air above it. She had tried to find out exactly how it stayed airborne from Mei but the soldier had just shrugged and claimed that the gods had put it there centuries ago.

All the way along the roads towards the city, Huan could barely hold in her excitement. Even hours away from it, the smell of a hundred homes and shops and streets clung to the air, sweeter than anything she had known in her cold, clean home so far behind them. Time seemed to slow to a tortoise’s crawl as they drew nearer and all attempts by the others to engage the Spirit Monk in conversation failed.

_How could they have left out so much?_ Huan had thought the accounts of the Imperial City she had read would have better prepared her. Instead, they seemed to capture only a shallow outline of the sprawling wonder that awaited them. More shocking than any of it was the way that none of the soldiers seemed to be paying much attention to the approaching city at all, beyond a few scattered comments on their relief to be home. For one wild minute, Huan considered just abandoning her quest. She could live in the city for good, leave Dirge and the Water Dragon and the Abbot and all his rules behind and embrace the whirling chaos of a life surrounded by so much noise.

She shook the thought off. What could she even do in the city? She had no trade or a distant family that could take her in. The idea of leaving the temple forever was utter foolishness. That was all.

They neared the city walls and Huan was disappointed to find that they were turning to the side instead of entering through the main foot-gate.

“If you still wish to speak to my brother, come with me.” Prince Li said, barely turning his head to address her, “A flyer has been arranged to meet me here.”

Elation at the idea of flying battled with a terrible pit of anxiety in Huan’s stomach. All the way from the Land of Howling Spirits she had been so focused on just getting to the city that she had not given a minute’s thought over what she would actually say.

_How do you even greet an Emperor?_

She stared resolutely at her feet all the way up to the palace, desperately cycling through possible ways of introducing herself and her quest. None of them felt like they were her voice. She wondered if everyone had that trouble.

At long last, a nervous sweat trickling down her brow (although that may still have been the fault of the robes), Huan made it to the docking bay closest to the official entrance to the Throne Room. Sun Li was quick to exit the flyer while Huan took a moment to compose herself before following. What she found outside, along with an elaborate hall that made her want to stop and explore for at least a few hours before they continued, was the Prince alone with a murderous frown on his face.

“It seems my brother did not feel it important to alert anyone to my arrival.” Li ground out, casting a furious glance up the hall to a gargantuan set of doors.

“Perhaps he forgot?” Huan suggested mildly.

The prince’s expression reminded her of what the Abbot had always said about her pathetic diplomacy skills.

“I am going to kill him.” Li announced and began to stride up the steps towards the doors.

After considering whether it would be better to get back in the flyer, Huan followed- nearly running to keep up.

Even then she wasn’t fast enough to catch Li before he threw the doors open and marched straight in. Huan just made it inside before the doors slammed shut again. Emperor Sun Hai was sitting on the throne, all the way on the other side of the room and Li was storming to him, Huan trailing as inconspicuously as possible, all thoughts of her own reasons for going to the palace momentarily forgotten.

“Brother Li, you _finally_ made it back from…what was it again? Hunting down petty forest thieves?” Hai drawled, leaning casually back on the throne. “I have to admit I assumed you’d be too tired from your journey to bother me.”

“If you wanted that then you would have at least informed the rest of our family that I had returned.” Li replied. Huan noted that a great deal of the outward anger seemed to have vanished from his voice. In fact, his tone was consciously very light and almost conversational but she could still see the sparks of annoyance in his eyes.

Quickly realising that, in fact, she wished to be anywhere other than where she was currently standing, Huan inched over to the wall. It felt as though she was an audience to something that she should not be.

She didn’t stop moving until her shoulder thudded softly against a massive, silken tapestry hanging from halfway up the wall all the way down to the floor, depicting a fox and a silver phoenix circling each other.

“You should consider yourself fortunate that I even made the effort to send a flyer.”

“The effort? Oh yes, brother, I’m certain it took a great deal out of you to manage that.”

The Spirit Monk began to pick at the side of the tapestry, pretending she was anywhere else.

“Or perhaps I did send word ahead. “ Hai was saying, “Perhaps they just did not care to greet you. Mother is still terribly angry at how long it has taken for you to return.”

“Don’t bring Mother into this.”

“It’s true. Just yesterday she was questioning how you could risk being so late to your own wedding. Worrying about the sort of example you’re setting for Kin.”

Huan tugged harder than she meant to at the tapestry. She thought she heard a crack above her but paid little attention.

“Oh yes, a terrible example I’m sure. Far worse than breaking an engagement and leaving your brother to deal with the mess.”

Huan desperately tried to tune out what she was hearing, wondering whether it would be worth it to slowly back away down the hall that they had entered through. It was at that moment, however, that the gods decided to completely abandon her and the tapestry she was pulling at came loose from its fastening and came thundering down on top of her with an enormous _THUD_ , coupled with her own cry of shock as the weight of it knocked her flat on her back.

“Mfmmmwm!” She tried to say but her voice was too muffled by the fabric for the two men to hear anything coherent.

She wondered if the Water Dragon had the power to strike her monks dead on the spot.

It seemed a fitting time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys it's a 'silken' 'fox' and a 'silver phoenix'  
> i'll show myself out


	12. Zihao II

  
  


Powerful gusts from the west had torn parts of the more fragile ships to shreds. Despite this damage, Zihao had not had the time to repair anything for several days- she was too consumed with the production and theft of enough dragon powder to meet the order they had been given.

When the day of the meeting came, Zihao was pacing the workshop in agitation.

“Where is he?” She snapped at the pirate unlucky enough to be standing nearest her.

The unfortunate man did not have enough time to try and come up with a coherent response because at that moment, another of her men came racing over.

“There is a boat approaching, Lady Zihao!”

“Good. Finally the old fool can take his dragon powder and do whatever needs doing. I’m tired of this lot being too frightened of blowing us to pieces to work.”

It took a little less than an hour for the boat to finally arrive, and then to dock.

Zihao went to meet it alone. It would not be wise for any of her pirates, no matter how trusted, to witness this exchange.

However, relief turned to molten fury when she saw the figure stepping lightly off of the boat.

It was not the old Lord she had been expecting all this time. Instead, a young woman with ribbons trailing form her bound hair was standing boldly before her.

“My father apologises that he is unable to be here in person-“ Ling began but stopped abruptly. Zihao had already turned and started to walk away.

“You will be seen back to your boat. I have no patience for my time being wasted.”

“What? Wait!” Ling said, “I am the daughter of Lord Zhong! You will listen to what I have to say!”

“I believe we have little to say to each other, girl.” Ziaho was already halfway back to the workshop and showed no signs of halting or even turning back around to speak face-to-face. “Tell your father that he can come here himself if he wishes to make demands. I will not barter the security of my operations with a child.”

“How _dare_ you speak to me like this!” Ling snarled, behind her, “I am here on my father’s authority and you _must_ “

“I _must_ do nothing. One of the men will see you out.”

“Fine! Run away! Run from this one chance to be more than a backwater thief, hiding in this hovel!” Ling bellowed after her. Zihao would not stop. Not for insults. Not for threats. She had tasted enough of both already. Still, she slowed her walking. It was usually at this point when whoever she was negotiating with (usually fences and other pirates) would find a way to try to keep her attention. True to form, only a moment of silence passed before she heard the voice behind her call. “Wait! There’s something you should know.”

Zihao paused, “Yes?”

The girl seemed to be warring with herself.

“While I speak with my father’s authority- the truth is that he knows nothing of why I’m here, or who I am working with.” She drew a tightly-wrapped scroll from a seam in her cloak. “He seeks to take advantage of Lord Fan’s business with the raids.”

“How do you know about-“

“He has many friends. Even in places so far from the Emperor’s sight. I promised I would not directly involve his name unless absolutely necessary. But it appears that you have made it necessary.” Ling held out the scroll. Zihao paced over and started once she caught sight of exactly which seal bound it- glinting gold in the sunlight.

_Well, shit._

**Author's Note:**

> Most of the stuff about the wives is originally from conversations with sunlian.tumblr.com  
> Trying to keep this as canon compliant as possible but mostly working off of headcanon since Bioware won't give us that Good Lore that we all want.  
> This is the first of three parts- Chapter One set 40 years before the game, Chapter Two during the drought, and Chapter Three during the Spirit Monk's childhood.


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